ASAP House by Laszlo Kiss
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.28.08
The New York Times covers the ASAP (About Saving the Planet) house being built in the Hamptons by Laszlo Kiss, who is "combining his modular aspirations with alternative energy technologies to create a Hamptons house that he hopes will marry modernist design with reasonable cost."
When we first saw it in Inhabitat we wondered how a single family house in the Hamptons can be about saving the planet, but now that it is built, we see that it does have some interesting features, and it is not another vacation home but a full time home for the architect/owners.
The pergolas that give it the distinctive appearance also support solar collectors, and the roofs are covered with a ten kilowatt photovoltaic array. A ground source heat pump provides heating and cooling.
The Times notes that Mr. Kiss’s main challenge in the design was “to have as much open living space as possible, but to have private spaces at the same time.” The flexible layout allows for a study or play area near the children’s bedrooms down the hall from the master bedroom, as well as a separate work space for the couple."
There are some nice specifications, with bamboo floors and energy-star lighting. We were surprised that the walls had only R-19 insulation and only R-38 in the roof; that is less than most zero-energy designs would have. It will be interesting to see if the photovoltaics can produce enough juice to offset the ground source heat pump and the kitchen appliances.::ASAP house via . ::New York Times
Why so critical of this house? It's modular, and has bamboo floors and energy star lights. That's better than most of the lame modular houses TreeHugger reflexively gushes over.
I'm not wild about LI suburbs either, but someone has to live there, and a slightly better house is still a better house.
You also don't whine about electrical use when someone trots out some half-baked plug in hybrid concept.
I would withold judgement until the house is complete and occupied and you can get some feedback on how it actually works and lives.
Maybe it's the fact that this is actually being built, rather than a slick rendering of some vaporware, that's irking you.
LA: You are right. I was too harsh and have toned down my comments.
I like this house. It's a full time home. It is not small, but I don't think it big either. The design is simple, effective, efficient, and elegant. It's got a good sized renewable energy system incorporated. Decent interior and passive solar design. I dream of the day that all homes in rich suburbs-commuties meet these criteria.
I appreciate all these comments and concerns. We have them as well. I have always known that the truth will lie in living in it in terms of it's "net zero status". And, in anticipation of that I have realized that the house itself will be dictating to me how we should and should not be living and using it. I really like this aspect of building this thing. Look, this is a first attempt, and we are never in the mind set that it is a static process. Everything can always be improved upon and what is commendable is to try to build something that is a bit more affordable with certain features that will bring our energy use from a grid to zero. There will always be nay sayers. We hope that more and more people will attempt any way they can to reduce their footprint and learn to live a little differently. Laszlo and I just happen to be Architect and Artist and we wanted to create something for ourselves and others that tried to do a few things better. This is only the beginning. We will keep track of how we are doing once we move in. Even our kids know the goal and they have behaviors that have to change as well. (what else are parents there for..... changing behavior isn't easy for anyone.....) The house will be letting us know how we did! We will keep you posted! And, thanks for the comments!